Huawei wants to overtake Apple within the next two years

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei‘s consumer business group, has said that he wants Huawei to be the second biggest smartphone manufacturer in the next two years.

Speaking to Reuters, Yu said: “We are going to take them (Apple) step-by-step, innovation-by-innovation,” adding, “there will be more opportunities. Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality.”

Huawei is currently the third biggest smartphone manufacturer behind Apple and front-runner Samsung. According to data from research company IDC, Huawei shipped 33.6 million smartphones in Q3 2016, giving it a 9.3% market share. Apple shipped 45.5 million and holds a 12.5% market share, while Samsung shipped 72.5 million units, with a 20% overall market share. Earlier this year, Yu said that he believed Huawei could be the number one manufacturer within five years.

With Samsung canceling its major phablet of the year, the Galaxy Note 7, and the lukewarm response to Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus contributing to a -5% drop in Apple’s smartphone shipments compared to Q3 last year, Huawei could take advantage of competitor’s shortfall to secure some new followers. Huawei unveiled its latest smartphone, the Huawei Mate 9 in Munich yesterday, alongside a Porsche designed variant of the same device.